tire and tube recommendations

The last tires (mains) I put on were Desser retread Elite Premium 2 grove. They now need replacement after 480 hours.
Has anyone found anything better?
What is the best tire for the nose wheel?
Are Michelin airstop the inner tube of choice for all 3?

seagull said:

The last tires (mains) I put on were Desser retread Elite Premium 2 grove. They now need replacement after 480 hours.
Has anyone found anything better?
What is the best tire for the nose wheel?
Are Michelin airstop the inner tube of choice for all 3?

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I have Desser retread Elite Premium 2 grove and Michelin Airstop Tubes. I love them.... At 480 hours, have you flipped the tires on the on the wheels to spread wear across entire face of tread? 480 is a lot of hours on a set of tires. I think count your blessings and buy same again....

Jim, yes I did flip the tires on the wheels about half way through.
What tire are you using on the nose wheel? The same one as the mains?

I’m surprised by the number of guys who don’t get even tire wear. I always expected to see some unevenness with the way the plane sits on the wheels, but mine have always been nice and even. I’m seeing about 500 hours per main tire (about 125 hr/year). My nosewheel tire is original and has 10 years of use on it. It still looks almost new. I’m landing on concrete.

RFSchaller said:

I’m surprised by the number of guys who don’t get even tire wear. I always expected to see some unevenness with the way the plane sits on the wheels, but mine have always been nice and even. I’m seeing about 500 hours per main tire (about 125 hr/year). My nosewheel tire is original and has 10 years of use on it. It still looks almost new. I’m landing on concrete.

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I think a lot depends on how the plane sits on the gear when "loaded". Most of us don't see the stance with pilot and passenger on board.

When I flipped mine there wasn't much uneven wear, It seemed like the right thing to do plus I was needing a spin balance anyway.

My nose wheel is also the original with 940 hours, and somewhere north of 1800 landings, all pavement. The tire has some life left on it but I wonder about the tube's condition moving around inside all this time, a failure there could be expensive.

One of my Desser retread Elite Premium 2 grove was twisted maybe from molding or sitting in stock. In any case it would not run true once mounted. The groves would wobble when spinning. Re-seating the bead and it was straighter until a slightly slipped landing and it would go back to the wobble. I chased this through the life of this tire, I am not sad to see it hit its end of life.

This time I will pick up the tires at the Desser warehouse and make sure they are both true.

Perhaps a word of caution... The Desser retread Elite Premium 2-grove tires are heavy. It is my opinion that the increased weight causes additional stress on the aluminum carry-thru gear channel. The problem is not ground operation, but rather from in-flight loads. In rough air, the heavy cantilever weigh of the wheels/tires causes increase bending moment at the outer gear mounting u-bracket. The AN5 bolt / washer is under-designed and does not distribute stress to large enough area of the aluminum carry-thru gear channel.

See photo below for cracks emanating from mounting bolt.
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Love my Michelin Aviators and Airstop tubes. No balancing issues right out of the box. Previously had an aero classic on the nose and never could get it balanced perfectly. Michelins didn't require any intervention.